


You Can't Stop the Beat

by Monsterunderthefedora



Category: Be More Chill - Iconis/Tracz
Genre: F/F, F/M, Fluff and Angst, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-13
Updated: 2019-06-26
Packaged: 2019-06-26 23:25:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,781
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15673401
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Monsterunderthefedora/pseuds/Monsterunderthefedora
Summary: It's the 1980s and Jenna Rolan is obsessed with the local teen dancing show and has a major crush on one of the stars, Jake Dillinger. Now given the chance to him the show she finds herself becoming a sensation over night but accidentally finds herself drawn into the protests for gay rights after her brother Jeremy falls in love with former dancer Michael Mell.





	1. An Opening

"Come on Jeremy, we're going to miss it!" Jenna excitedly jogged down the street as her step-brother exasperatedly tried to keep up.

"Why....huh....do we keep doing this?!"

"Because dad's house has a bigger TV!"

"Christ." They finally came to a stop in front of the record store before going up the ladder through the door. Their dad was parked on the couch reading a newspaper as the two teens parked themselves in front of the TV excitedly turning on the screen as they were greeted by a smiling face.

"Welcome, all you hip young dudes and dudettes! This is So You Think You Can Dance and I'm your host Rich Goranski!" In the background dancers were behind him moving to the rythym of Michael Jackson's Billie Jean. "Will all you guys come up and introduce yourselves?" They began to go down the role call of names but there was only one person Jenna had eyes for.

"And I'm, Jake," he winked at the screen before hitting the floor as Jenna squealed.

"Oh my gosh, he's so cute!"

"Yeah but he's taken," Jeremy said as his girlfriend, Chloe Valentine appeared on screen and began to dance with him.

"Chloe doesn't count. I bet she doesn't even really love him."

"Denial is not just a river in Egypt." Jenna resolved by throwing a pillow in Jeremy's face before looking back at the TV. ''Hey where's Michael?" Jeremy asked noticing the absence of his favorite dancer on screen.

"I dunno, he probably got sick or something." 

"I don't get how you kids can watch that crap. Back in my day kids actually had to have talent to get on those kind of shows," Mr. Heere chimed in looking up from his newspaper.

"It's the 80s dad, nobody cares about dinosaurs anymore."

"Hey!" The two teens went back to the screen when the dancing stopped and Rich was refocused on.

"Now you may have noticed the absence of a certain dancer, Michael. Unfortunately there was an incident yesterday and he was fired on the spot." The TV audience let out disappointed noises as Jeremy threw the pillow across the room. 

"What?!"

"But don't worry, his absence has given you guys the opportunity of the lifetime! We now have an open spot for anyone who wants to join So You Think You Can Dance, auditions will be held tomorrow from twelve until five! Make sure to get there early before everyone else! And now a message him our sponsors..." The two tuned out at the commercials, letting out excited squeals as they jumped up.

"We have to audition!"

"And I can finally meet Jake..." Jenna said happily as she thought about the boy on TV with a dreamy look in her eyes.

"Tomorrow's a Thursday,'' Mr. Heere said as he got up and turned off the television, "you're not ditching school for some silly dance competition."

"Aw, come on dad please?"

"It's our favorite show!"

"We'd literally die if we didn't get to audition." Jenna added with puppy dog eyes as her and Jeremy stared up at the father pleadingly.

"Please?"

"...alright, how could I say no to those faces?" The two tightly hugged him in response. "Now just don't tell your mother alright?" The two were already out of the door. "Kids, I'll never understand them." Checking to make sure no one was coming in he switched the show back on and began to watch.


	2. Miss Middleborough Crabs

"God, dad is going to kill us if he found out we ditched class." Jeremy said nervously as they were finally allowed to enter the dance studio. "And if my mom finds out she's going to have a heart attack and I'm going to be punished until college." 

"Don't worry Jer, you're not even auditioning so you won't be on camera!" Jenna smiled at her step-brother, taking a deep inhale. "Do you smell that?"

"The faint smell of vomit, disinfectant with just a hint of hairspray?"

"No silly, it smells like dreams coming true." The two teens made their way over to the rest of the people auditioning, gathered around the dance floor. The show regulars were talking nearby and Jenna could feel hey heart skip a beat. "Look!" She happily grabbed Jeremy by the arm and pointed at the familiar teen heart throb. "It's Jake," she sighed happily. The boy turned around and smiled at the girl with a wave. She waved back before hiding behind her much smaller brother. "Isn't he dreamy?"

"I guess." Jeremy shrugged and Jenna looked around the studio amazed by all the lights and glamor. 

"I can't believe I'm really here." 

"Hello everyone," the group turned to see an older woman with bigger hair come in to stage. A look of disgust graced her face as she looked over them. "So...you're the new contestant? Well beggars can't be choosers I suppose. Back in my day half of you wouldn't have even stepped foot on this stage." As the woman said this, she focused particularly on Jenna.

"Mother, nobody wants to hear about your time." Chloe Valentine spoke up with the roll of her eyes. Suddenly Jenna could see the resemblance. "That was decades ago."

"Chloe don't talk back to your mother. Now all of you, on the dance floor." The teens followed Ms. Valentine's orders, scrambling to the dance floor. Jenna could feel heat go to her cheeks when she saw how close she was to Jake. "Show me what you got." The music turned on and Jenna began to move, happily dancing to the beat. Chloe's mother circled the group like a vulture. Her eyes looking to spot out any mistake the new participants might make.

"You're going to have to do a lot to live up to the Miss Middleborough Crabs name." Chloe made another annoyed sigh at her mother before noticing Jenna. She held back a snort as she grabbed Jake by the waist and turning. 

"The council has some important questions about whether or not you're show material. Girls?" Ms. Valentine turned and one of the dancers with long hair smirked as she poked one of the show hopefuls in the chest. 

"You really think you can make it on live TV? Please, everyone's eyes will be on you. Do the audience a favor and don't make them look at you." The girl looked ready to cry as she ran off.

"Hey that wasn't nice!" Jenna didn't stop dancing buy she couldn't believe what girl said. 

"Oh please," Chloe turned with a sneer, "if she couldn't handle that, she wasn't meant for the show. But I want to know why you thinking you can audition. I mean look at you, we don't film in wide screen." Some the girls laughed and Jenna stopped for a moment. She looked over at Jeremy than at Jake before she started to dance again. No way was she going to let this get to her. 

"Chloe, you don't need to be cruel," Jake said putting a hand around his girlfriend's shoulder but Chloe pushed him away. Ms. Valentine saw this and turned to Jenna with a smirk.

"Now, would you share a water fountain you knew a homosexual man drank from?" Everyone turned to Jenna who shrugged.

"I don't see why not."

"Why not? Don't you know what kind of diseases they carry?" A guy asked incredulously.

"Not everyone who's gay has HIV. And doctors said it can't be passed by saliva do I don't see why we shouldn't. They're people too." Everyone went quiet as Ms. Valentine made a face.

"I'm sorry, but with that attitude there's no way you're getting on the show."

"Yeah who knows what kind of bugs she has!" Chloe remarked snidely.

"And even if you did answer everything right, look at you." The woman poked Jenna harshly in the stomach. "With your size, I'm surprised you even got through the door. You may go now," the woman made a shooing motion with her hands.

"Ugh... thank you?" Jenna joined hey brother, face fallen. Walking out the door Jeremy tried to cheer up his sister.

"I think they secretly liked you."

"...let's just go home."


	3. Dancing in Detention

"Is she looking?" Jeremy asked as Jenna peered through the school door window. 

"No, come on!" The two teens quietly opened the door, sneaking past the old teacher who was writing on the chalk board. Taking seats near the back. Unfortunately for the step-siblings the woman abruptly turned around.

"Ms. Rolan, Mr. Heere. Later than usual. Care to tell the class where you two were.''

"Um..."

"Right. Both of you, detention. Jeremy I'll be giving your mom a call." The class laughed as the teen's face turned red. Jenna sighed as she got up and walked down the hall. 

"I told you, my mom's going to kill me." Jeremy groaned. "This is my second detention this month!" Jenna rolled her eyes as her brother continued to worry when they came to the detention room. The two froze when they saw the other teens in the room.

There in the center was a familiar teen TV show host with a red streak holding a boom box while everyone else danced to the music. It kind of sounded like a Michael Jackson song but Jenna couldn't quite place it.

"Holy shit!" Jeremy grabbed his step-sister's arm and pointed. "Look! That's Michael Mell! He must've transferred here after he left the show!" Jeremy said excitedly as they entered. 

"And Rich Goranski! I didn't even know he went here." The two made their way over as Rich noticed them staring.

"The hell are you looking at tall ass?" 

"I, ugh, you-you're-"

"You're Rich Goranski right?" Jenna asked as the boy with a red streak raised an eyebrow. "My name's Jenna! Jenna Rolan, this is my brother Jeremy!" Jeremy waved. "I auditioned today and can I just say, I'm a huge fan!"

"Most people are...so you're the girl Chloe's mom was talking about." 

"Oh..." Rich laughed.

"Nah don't worry, that's a good thing. That lady had the biggest stick up her ass. Anyone who can make her angry is a friend of mine." 

"This is wild, is every detention like this?"

"When I'm here, hell yeah it is. No class, no teachers, of course we're gonna dance. How about I show you a few moves?" Rich got up and moved to the dance floor. Jenna was more than happy to join, dragging Jeremy with her.

"Jenna I can't-" Jeremy was cut off as he bumped into the chest of someone. Looking up he froze when he saw the face of Michael Mell. "Ugh...hey...."

"Hey." Jeremy felt himself trying not to melt at the touch.


End file.
